Summary

At a time when Deep Space 9 is all but empty, an unjoined Trill named Verad and his crew (a pair of Klingonmercenaries and a former prostitute) overpower the crew of the station. The Trill, Verad, applied to be "joined" and was rejected; now he wants the Daxsymbiont. Forcing Odo into a container and taking the rest of the crew hostage, he forces Bashir to transfer the symbiont into his body, which will kill Jadzia within hours.

Bashir has one of the Klingons act as a nurse as he tries to save Jadzia's life. Meanwhile, Sisko tries to coax his old friend (Verad now has the memories of both Jadzia and Curzon Dax) into setting things right, but he realizes Verad intends to let Jadzia die. Verad's lover begins to realize how much Verad has changed since the symbiont was transferred and he became Verad Dax, and begins to think the transfer may have been a bad idea. However, she remains loyal to him.

Quark, who is responsible for Verad and his crew boarding the station, pretends to be injured so Bashir can knock one of the Klingons out. He then cracks the lock on the container Odo is in. Once Verad realizes what has happened, he heads for his ship and takes Kira as a hostage.

By the time Verad reaches his ship, Odo has released the docking clamps, leaving him stranded. Kira overpowers the Klingon who is holding her but in the confusion Verad slips away, heading for a runabout. In the mean time his lover has realized that the man she loves truly is gone and decided to help Sisko. Sisko meets Verad at the airlock to the runabout and the two have a stand off. Believing that Sisko will not shoot his old friend, Verad begins to walk away, but Sisko shoots him, declaring, "Don't call me Benjamin." The Dax symbiont is transferred back to Jadzia.

Memorable Quotes

Background Information

Story and script

Robert Hewitt Wolfe says that this show was created because the producers wanted to convey to the audience the idea that not every single Trill was joined, that it was actually extremely difficult to get a symbiont. This, in turn, offered a commentary on the Jadzia character insofar as she was someone who did become joined. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) Interestingly, the third season episode "Equilibrium" turned the notion that it was difficult to get a symbiont on its head.

Production

The symbiont seen in this episode is significantly different from that seen in TNG: "The Host". As makeup supervisor Michael Westmore explains, the original design was based upon a caterpillar with an octopus' head, but for its second appearance in DS9 (the first was in the pilot "Emissary"), the design was "streamlined." (Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two, DS9 Season 2 DVD, Special Features)

During filming, Tim Russ accidentally punched Patricia Tallman (who was doubling Nana Visitor) in the face during a fight sequence. Tallman noted that "everyone on the set freaked out, but I said, 'No, don't stop! That was really good - it looked very authentic!' So we finished the fight there and then." (Star Trek Monthly issue 52)

This is one of Terry Farrell's favorite episodes because she believes it is very important in terms of differentiating between the host (Jadzia) and the symbiont (Dax); "I approached the scenes in the Infirmary with the idea that Jadzia is scared, that she feels helpless. She cares very deeply for everyone on the station and is afraid for them. That's why she's willing to say 'Fine, I'll give my life for everybody, and you can have Dax.' But that had been while the strength of Dax was inside of her, telling her that everything was going to be okay. Once the worm is gone, she's only twenty-eight years old, and it's like, 'Wait, I haven't lived that much life yet'." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

Armin Shimerman dislikes this episode because he feels that Quark commits an unforgivable crime yet receives no punishment. According to Shimerman "I worry when Quark doesn't get punished for really sizable crimes. It makes the character less important since his acts trigger no consequences, and it makes Odo look a little foolish, in that he's the law keeper and he can't get this little troll punished." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

Ira Steven Behr commented "Glover was great, but so was Megan Gallagher. I thought she was just wonderful. It was one of my favorite shows of the season. I love the stuff with Verad becoming Dax and the scene with him and Sisko where he's suddenly his friend. It was very interesting material and well played. Les Landau did a wonderful job with that show". (The Deep Space Log Book: A Second Season Companion, p 21)

Trivia

This is the second episode in a row wherein most of the crew is evacuated from the station, while Quark is left behind and Rom receives passage.

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